Doug Oberman’s death refocuses us on the war against polio
Only ten cases of polio have been reported in nearly the first four months of 2016—all of them in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But neither country has had a new case since March 22. However, three new cases of a different strain of polio were reported in Laos in January. An emergency response team has been in the country for two months working to prevent more cases. Laos had been considered to be polio free for years, but the disease “travels well.”
When the war on polio began in the 1980’s, more than 600,000 cases were logged every year and thousands more weren’t even enumerated. But with new vaccination tools and increased funding, we may finally see an end to this paralyzing disease in two years according to the World Health Organization, part of the United Nations.
At one time there were three strands of polio; Doug managed to contract all three at the age of eight. Today, except for the outbreak in Laos, all ten cases this year have been type one. That has allowed public health officials to reformulate the oral vaccine to be more potent and more specific. In addition, the injectable vaccine is being used in some limited cases. It is more expensive and requires medical professionals to inject, but is more potent but was not used in the days when thousands and even millions of children were immunized in a single day.
Then there’s the “Gates effect.” The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation became involved in eradication efforts more than ten years ago and have pumped over $1 billion into various efforts, including three challenges to The Rotary Foundation.
The eradication struggle is compounded by the incorrect assertion by the Taliban and a few clerics that the polio immunization campaign is a western plot to sterilize children. An immunization team was attacked in Pakistan Wednesday and 7 police officers were killed while protecting health workers.
Please consider a donation to END POLIO NOW in honor of Doug - Contributions may be made in his name to the Rotary Foundation Polio Campaign. Those donations may be brought to a meeting or mailed to the Waterloo Downtown Rotary Club P.O. Box 118, Waterloo, IA 50704.